One more chance
by Amaterasu Mira
Summary: GinxRan, a story about Rangiku finding Gin again, rated M just to be safe for possible future chapters. P.S. this is my first time with any story like this, sorry if it isn't that great, but I'm trying!
1. Missing you

"Rangiku, in the end. I couldn't get back what was taken from you. ahh.. I knew it, I'm glad I said sorry."

Rangiku stared at the sky, crying out for him, so soon after the fight. Seeing him die was a horrible thing for her since he was the one she had loved, more than anyone else in the world. It was best that she move on and stop crying about it.

That's what he would have wanted, no more tears, not an ounce of sadness left in her, to bog her down from being who she, with Gin's help, had turned out to be.

She then suddenly saw him with the show falling, and she reached her arm out, slowly extending her hand as she say a memory of him with his back turned to her. She couldn't help but let the tears flow as she thought about the part of him that she had formerly hated, but now loved. He had left her with nothing, like always, nothing but the memory of him. He must have known that that would have held her back from moving on with her life and getting over him. He was always so much smarter and attuned to what was best for her, more than anyone else she knew, could have ever hoped to be. She sniffed and wiped her tears away at the sound of Hitsugaya-Taichou's footsteps as he completed the day's training.

Taichou looked up at her with his usual look "Matsumoto, what are you doing here?"

She stood upright quickly and looked back at him "I was just making sure that you didn't do anything too serious with your training and didn't wear yourself out too much, sir!" She did a salute before grinning, like she usually did around him, even if it was fake and she was sobbing on the inside. She would keep up with this facade of happiness until she was done grieving.

"Ah, well we should head back now, since I'm done, Rangiku."

"Hai, Taichou"

They walked away from the place together, Rangiku's heart longing to see Gin again. Even though her mind knew it could never happen.


	2. Mysterious boy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters; all rights go to Tite Kubo.**

**Thank you YamamotosSenpai for helping me make sure this went together better than I am capable of!**

**Reviews are welcome~! I'll gladly accept them!**

_She ran after him in the snow. "Gin! Where are you going Gin!? Those are Shingami clothes…! Why are you dressed like…"_

_He interrupted her, "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to become a shinigami, and change things… so you won't have to cry anymore, Rangiku." He looked at her and wiped the blood away from his face. "Did you know that when you die as a soul you get reborn as a human again? They taught me that our existence is like the sand inside an hour glass, we flow constantly between both sides so as to keep it all balanced."_

_She looked at his back, wishing for him to turn around so badly. She had no clue why he was doing this; he didn't have to do that for her._

_He fully turned around to face her "I want you to know so that if I ever fail you in this life, when we die and are reborn, I want to make it up to you in the next life."_

_"You being here is all I need to make me happy Gin, just remember that and I will not shed another tear again."_

**Present.**

It had been years since Gin had died, everyone else seemed to have totally moved on from the incident that Aizen had created, and the fight with the Quincies where they had lost Yamamoto Soutaichou. Momo and Hitsugaya-taichou were all finally looking like they were in their mid-teens now. Rangiku reached out for her scarf before she went to the world of the living for a job. She put it on, she still felt the effects of his absence, but she held it in till she was alone, and then let it all pour out till she could not shed a tear anymore.

Everyone around her thought that she had moved on and was happy again, like it was with her before he had died, but it was all a lie, she was living a lie. The promises he had made that day screamed in her head, reminding her that there might be a chance to find him as a human. Logic told her that that would be a near impossible thing even with all the years she had compared to humans, the world was so vast and knowing would be difficult.

Free time was also limited as well; she was a fukutaichou and was heavily distracted. All the times she would go to the world of the living for clothes had been swapped in favor of spending time trying to find Gin again. She got up and went out the door clutching Haineko. She opened up the Senkaimon with her zanpakuto, and the Jigokuchō started to fly around her, it was time to go, she said goodbye to no one, and just forged on ahead.

When she entered on the other side she huffed out of frustration, and at the same time, gratitude that burned through her core as she felt so much closer to something her heart was yearning for. She stood in the sky, walking as she roamed around the city, searching for anything suspicious. Any sense of a Whole or a Hollow and she would be there as fast as she could.

Suddenly she felt a surge in spiritual pressure and her eyes widened. "W-What is that? It feels like a hollow and something else!" She shunpo'd to the spot, in such a rush to get there on time before anything bad could happen. She saw what was happening; there was a tall, young man with silver hair. Standing over him was a Hollow, a small fry and so very ugly.

Rangiku unsheathed her zanpakuto and didn't even bother to release it before she brought it down; cutting through its mask and watching it disappear. She turned and looked at the boy that had been trying to fend off the Hollow with a tree branch thicker than his arm.

"Hey, you stupid kid! What were you trying to do standing there with a twig against a thing like a Hollow?!"

"It was going to eat that woman; I couldn't let that happen even if she is a ghost…"

Her head turned and she looked at him fully for the first time when he turned to face her too. She gasped and lost her breath at the sight "G-Gin" she whispered softly. "What did you say?" he arched his eyebrow and looked at her with a frown on his face.


	3. Happy man

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters; all rights go to Tite Kubo.**

Thank you YamatosSenpai for helping me make sure this went together better than I am capable of!

Reviews are welcome~! I'll gladly accept them! __

She looked at him solemnly with a miserable expression on her face. Seeing him again the flesh looking like he had in the past, but without that fox like grin that he would have on his face with those narrowed eyes. When she looked at him now she felt happiness, a weight lifted off her shoulders once seeing him again like this. His face…, his eyes were wide open and that fox like grin that was burned into her mind no longer graced his lips. Her heart pounded in her chest as her lips parted out of a lack of words as her mind tried to catch up to speed with this event.

She smiled softly before turning away from him and towards the woman, her blade was still out and she reversed its position to where the point of the blade was facing in her direction.

"What are you going to do?!"

Alarm was evident in both his face and body and it made her smile, it felt like their positions were reversed this time around, she was the sad one, while he was the naïve one she would have to look out for. She let out a laugh, ending it as quickly as it had escaped from her mouth.

"Silly boy. There is no need to worry for her." She looked at the woman and gave her a reassuring look. "You no longer have to worry, where you are going is a better place, in the Soul Society you will not become what was attacking you. You will stay the way you are now till you come back as a human again if you so choose." The woman nodded, closing her eyes and Rangiku brought the hilt of Haneiko to her forehead, the mark of the stamp shining brightly till the woman was gone, the konso was complete and she sheathed her zanpakuto.

She felt his eyes on the back of her head and she spun around on her heel to face him. "What is it little boy?"

His eyes narrowed "I have a name! And it certainly is not 'boy,' or 'little boy.' " His response made her have to stifle a laugh, the way he got so huffy and worked up about it was something worth seeing compared to the cool way he had carried himself as Gin. "Speaking of names, why did you call me Gin?"

Her face became down cast and he had a startled look appear on his face, "I'm sorry if I hit a nerve, I was just curious about what you are and who he was."

"I'm a shinigami, you just saw what my job was, and Gin…, Gin was the love of my life who had died. He promised he'd come back to make up for the mistakes he made while he was Gin, and you, you look and act just like him if he hadn't been so serious."

"I look like him?"

"You heard me kid, yes, you look like him, now if this is all you have to say, I have to go and find some place to camp out during my stay here." With that she stepped in midair, and started to climb up higher in the sky when a hand grabbed her wrist before she could she get any farther up. "What is it?" she looked at him with wide eyes.

"You can stay at my place, I don't mind, I don't have anyone else since that woman that passed on" he paused and looked down, "That woman was my mother and the last person left living with me."

Suddenly he was pulled into a bear hug and since she was higher than he was, his face was buried in her chest. It was something that he definitely didn't mind and was not going to make any effort to get away from it. He couldn't help it; they were just so soft and warm that he could just die right then and there. Just as he had gotten comfortable in her embrace, they were gone. He kept his face from blushing or getting red. He didn't want her to see that he had been thinking anything that might get a slap across the face from her.

"My name is Yukio."

"What a nice name, mine is Rangiku."

Well Rangiku, follow me…" With that said and done the two of them walked off, eventually ending up at his place ten to fifteen minutes later. He opened up the door and led her up the stairs by the hand till they were in front of the door at the end of the hallway.

She looked at him when he opened up the final door, seeing that it belonged to his room; it was bigger than what she had expected. It was messy though, things belonging to him were strewn all across the floor like he had thrown them himself in a fit of fury. She didn't dare ask what had happened to his room, if he was anything like what he used to be, which she could definitely tell that he was just a less malicious and serious version of who he used to be. Her eyes quickly looked away at the mess before he could catch her looking at it; they landed on the bed that was all neat and was more feminine, contrasting the one that she assumed was his bed on the opposite side of the room.

"You can sleep there if you want to sleep on a bed, that one was my sister's before dad took her after the divorce." She looked into his stark blue eyes "I'm sorry"

"Don't be, it wasn't your fault that my parents separated, my sister and I, we saw it coming a mile away." He yawned and closed his eyes.

She waited till his breathing was slowed, making sure that he was really asleep, she went over and poked his cheek. He looked displeased for a second before his face relaxed again. Her body stopped being tense with anticipation and she crawled back to the other bed, pulling out the little circle like thing and putting her mouth to it. She started to blow into it, it grew and eventually formed a shape, looking exactly like her. She rolled her eyes when looking down at the lifeless shell. It was all the rage now since the thing came in handy and was so easy to carry around. _'Damn that Urahara, the lucky bastard must be rich by now from all the money he gets for these portable Gigai!' _

Her cheeks filled with air before she huffed, the clothes that were on her Gigai were more than a bit dated. She frowned at that and saw that some of Yukio's sister's clothes were left behind, seeing the sleep wear and merging with the Gigai, she changed and put it the clothes on before going to sleep herself.


	4. Differences

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters; all rights go to Tite Kubo.**

Reviews are welcome~! I'll gladly accept them! __

He watched as her body quivered, tears running down her cheeks. "Cold… it's so cold…" her small voice complained as she curled into herself, trying to make her body contort into a ball as a barrier. He scowled. He hated living in a place like this, but the shack was the only place they had; it was horrible in the winter, but amazing in the summer.

An idea popped up into his head as he gathered one of the last worthwhile things in their possession that was sellable. He turned and left without a word to her, just a glance as he walked out before breaking out into a run. Her protector, he wanted to be that for as long as was deemed possible, and seeming strong in front of her was a part of the role that he took on, even though he was always frantic on the inside with worry concerning his Rangiku. She was just so fragile, and he wanted her to stick around and maybe even live longer than he would end up managing to.

His feet moved as fast as they could, afraid that if he took too long, wasted too much time, that when he finally could come back, she wouldn't be around anymore. He didn't want to lose her; he didn't want to see what the cold would do to her if left alone for too long.  


_When he finally made it to the market place, he twisted his face into his trademark fox-like expression he wore with everyone other than Rangiku. He wanted to keep everyone else but her at an arm's length, since he wasn't interested in liking anyone else. Rangiku was the only one that could have his love. He traded the item for a meal, drinks, and another blanket to add to their collection of necessities during the certain seasons. He ran back to her, seeing that a fire was started and she was as close as she could get to it._

"You were out while I was away?" 

_Rangiku nodded, smiling a small smile, just for him, "I couldn't wait any longer. I was scared that you wouldn't come back, that you'd leave me for good and never come back. I didn't want to die waiting for a man who might not come back." _

"_I hope you know that I will always come back, no matter how long the separation will be, I will never abandon you. In the end, I will always come back."_

He kneeled down next to her, presenting her with the things they needed. They ate the food and drank the water, before getting under the blanket and cuddling with each other to keep up their body temperatures. He watched her as she touched his cheek and then his lips, keeping her fingers there till she fell asleep and he wrapped his arms around her, never wanting to let go of her…

He watched her, tears starting to fall from his eyes as his thoughts/surroundings started to get fuzzy. '_If you were to turn into a snake tomorrow and begin devouring humans, and from the same mouth you started devouring humans, you cried out to me 'I love you,' would I still be able to say 'I love you' the same way I do today?__' He saw her crying and screaming his name 'At least I was able to say I was sorry…'_

He woke up with a start and couldn't breathe, opening his eyes he found her legs were wrapped around him and her well-endowed chest was right next to his face, practically smothering him. He groaned, trying to slip out of her grip to take a shower. But even asleep she had an iron grip. He had never known a woman to be this strong, but when he looked at her face, which was so peaceful looking, he couldn't bear to wake her up. He couldn't understand how this mysterious woman, he had only met yesterday, was affecting him like this.

It was befuddling him why he felt this way deep in his core, and what was up with his dream, he had seen Rangiku and a guy with her that looked just like him… Or what he used to look like as a child and what he kind of looked like now in the last part of the dream of what he assumed was the guy dying. He reached his hand out to take a lock of her hair in between his long fingers. He did it without thinking, a desire for her that was starting to cultivate itself so shortly after waking up. Before he could caress her locks, her eyes opened and she looked down at him, his hand slowly withdrawing. She unwrapped herself from around him and he got up. She had no idea that she had ended up in his bed while was still asleep, she only woke up like that with Gin, even her body was telling her that it was him, it recognized him, just like she was sure that even with that glazed look in his eyes, that his body recognized her as well by him almost taking her hair between his fingers, one of the only things that he would do with her.

She watched as he walked away, into what she assumed was the bathroom by the fact that a few minutes later she heard water running from the shower. She went back to her bed on her side of the room and went back to sleep.

When he walked out of the bathroom without his shirt, his eyes looked at the sleeping form on the other side of the room. He had to admit that it was weird to have someone sleeping in his twin's old bed, having anyone around him, especially after his mother had passed away, months and months of being by himself on a physical level. His mother was the only one left that he had loved, and even she became distant as she withered away as her life was coming to a close, and then he had no one. His mother had named him wrong; he was not the happy man that she had wished he would be. He grabbed a random shirt, throwing it on and leaving for the day.

When she woke up again the sun was shining on her face and she groaned, getting up and cleaning up, taking a shower as well once she found his mom's old room and using her stuff since what filled his bathroom was meant for a male. Once she was done eating and all that jazz she left the house, leaving for Urahara Shoten, she had some questions for that man…

She opened the door to the place and heard jazz playing from somewhere in the building. She had a rather unamused look on her face as she walked around, following the sound of the music, having no clue that Urahara was into jazz, or music in general for that matter. When she opened another door, she saw something that made her eyebrow rise and mouth open before she quickly closed it.

"What're ya trying to catch flies with that mouth of yours?" there was a boisterous laugh that worked with the music playing somehow. She looked at the man that the question came from with a glare and that just made him laugh even harder. "Why are you even here?" she asked before Urahara showed up with Yoruichi behind him holding a three year old girl. "Shinji! Don't be so rude to her, Rangiku-san! What brings you here this lovely afternoon?"

"I'll tell you in a second, first I have to ask you, why is Shinji here, and what's up with the kid?" Urahara waved his fan in front of his face, about to say something before Shinji answered for him. "What? A man can't visit the one they're married too? And that kid is our little girl, thanks ta Kisuke and his demand for experiments that made it possible."

She just stared, slightly dumbfounded, this is what Shinji did on his off time from being the taicho of the fifth division? She shook her head and looked back at Urahara "Now, I have some questions I'd like to ask you in private if we could Urahara-san." Urahara nodded and Shinji and Yoruichi left with each other, whispering to each other like they were best friends or something before they disappeared from sight. He waved to the cushions surrounding the table and she sat down across from him. "What is it that you want to talk about, what's burning in your head?"

"I want to ask you if soul reborn as a human _could_ know who it was before they became who they are now?" She drew in a quick breath, pushing her bangs back "And could the one closest to them just know it by looking at them?" She leaned over the table and he leaned away with that stupid fan covering his mouth. "From personal experience I can't tell you that Rangiku-san, but I guess it could be possible, why do you think you have stumbled upon the new Gin?"

Her head bowed as she stopped leaning forward over the table "He always promised that he would come back if he failed the first time around." "Then I must say with something like that, it has a stronger possibility of being true and happening, I've never seen an attachment and devotion to another person as what you two had for each other."

She abruptly stood up, "Thank you Urahara-san." "You're welcome Rangiku-san; you can always come back if you need anything else." She turned and waved, walking out of the place and seeing the sun was much lower in the sky than what it was when she had entered Urahara's shop. She groaned and hurried as fast as she to get back, he was probably doing something reckless, she held out her gikongan. When she got into the house, she saw that he was in the kitchen. He looked up at the sound of her footsteps and smiled over the food that he had just made. "Ah, Rangiku-san, I was waiting for you to come back, where'd you go?"

She had a sense of déjà vu of when they were kids, but reversed when hearing that from him. In this life, would their roles be reversed? It was starting to feel like that with what had just now happened. "I was visiting a friend of mine" she put the pill away, hiding it from his view, things could be learned over time for him, nothing needed to happen instantly.

She stood where she was and watched him move with patient eyes, her eyes raked over his body. She saw just how much more he looked like Gin, the hair, the height, and lean figure that he had. Her fist clenched and unclenched with these thoughts running through her head.

This mysterious boy in front of her was going to drive her crazy if she didn't get a definite confirmation of if he was Gin. She sat down with him when the food was ready and her impulses got the better of her. "Stop, don't move… I-I want to try something." He stopped all movement as she leaned forward before she could back out, her lips parted slightly when she was just an inch away from his face. His eyes were surprised, but he was still listening to her, he hadn't moved at all yet.

She got closer, reaching her hand out to cup his face and finally kissing him. She melted right then and there, his lips even felt the same, just like his response, it was nothing at first, but then he eventually kissed back before pulling away suddenly. His face was red, his eyes downcast "I'm sorry Rangiku, I just can't handle this right now, not with the dreams I've been having and everything else in my life." He got up with his food and walked away.


	5. Just one kiss

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters; all rights go to Tite Kubo.**

Reviews are welcome~! I'll gladly accept them! 

A few weeks of their current living arrangement had passed; he was embarrassed by the kiss and was for the most part staying away from her since it was so awkward to even look over in her direction. The dreams that he'd been having every night since she had appeared were gnawing at him too She on the other hand was aloof and distant, not showing anything towards him after being brushed off when he had ended the kiss.

She wondered what was wrong, he had responded to the kiss, but he stopped it before it could get anywhere else and now he was acting really awkward and embarrassed around her. She huffed after cleansing a hollow. '_Men… I can never truly understand them, they are so strange with what they want and don't want.' _She groaned as she put her sword away, wanting to crash right then and there on the ground. She prolonged her time getting back as long as she could considering what was waiting for her at her current living space was silence and longing for so many things from him, things that she might not end up getting ever. She blushed at the thought of how she had been quieting down her desires.

When she walked up to the front of the house she saw him underneath his car. She heard the sounds of him working on it, fixing it, was this what he was good at? She kneeled down on the ground close to him. She looked at the part of him that was visible, seeing the lower half of him and how the jeans that he was wearing were loose and showing his underwear as they hung low on his hips.

She blushed as she mentally drooled at the sight of him. Covering half her face with her hand as she tried to hide as much of her face from view as she could, even if Yukio was the only one passing by that could see her. "What are you doing just standing there Rangiku-san?"

She mumbled distastefully, disappointed that he was back to attaching san when addressing her. She moved her hand from her face and ran her fingers through her hair, she still wasn't used to her hair being so short again after being kept long for so long. "I'm just curious is all; I never pegged you as someone that was good with working with your hands."

"Thank you... I guess?" those were his last words, the only ones that she could get out of him with this conversation with the direction it was going. After he uttered those words, it turned into an awkward silence as neither of them spoke to each other, the time ticking by slowly but surely.

Her mouth worked faster than her thought process could filter her words to stop her from saying what she was about to say. "Are you still having those dreams or yours? What are they about anyway?" The noise of him working with the car stopped so suddenly at her words, did she really have such a great effect on him to make him freeze so easily when she moved or talked? Her mouth set in a grim line as she felt the shift, she was used to being the one to freeze at Gin's words and actions, and she never had that effect on anyone.

He pushed himself out from underneath his raised car, looking at her with those bright blue eyes that reminded her of ice. They were so cold; Gin's eyes had been exactly like that. "My dreams…" he stood up and she saw that he was shirtless, he watched as her face turned red as a tomato and couldn't help but feel a bit of hubris over it since he would be blind as a bat not to recognize just how smoking hot she was. "They were about you, and someone that must have been me in a past life, they've been haunting me since you came on that night you sent my mother to this Soul Society of yours. I saw it first hand, it was horrible, the conditions were crappy, and you were always cold in the winter, the man with you… he was always scared for you, worried that whenever he went to get stuff for you guys, you wouldn't be alive anymore, that you'd be gone by the time he got back."

It was her time to freeze, her lips pressed together as she looked at him with wide eyes. Tears started to fall from her eyes and he looked at her with worry. "You must be him! Those memories, those were something that only we knew about that since we never told anyone else about it." She clasped her hands against her chest, and he walked over to her, pulling her into a hug as the tears flowed more freely from her eyes "Gin, my Gin…"

His embrace was so cold, icy, and she leaned into him out of reflex, she'd been waiting two hundred years for Gin's cold embrace. His big and long hands rested loosely on her lower back.

"Rangiku… can you tell me, will my dreams of you ever stop?" He rested his chin on the top of her head; he felt her hot tears pool against his skin. "I don't know, I would think that they would eventually stop, we spent as much time as we could with each other so I imagine your dreams will last a while."

His face contorted as he grinned his signature fox like grin. "I can deal with that, even if it means having sleepless nights." His hand was the one to cup her face this time and he lifted her chin up, he leaned forward and brought his lips to her cheeks, kissing her tears away. He tasted her salty tears and kissed her eyelashes, before kissing her on the lips, moving his hand back down to her lower back, he crushed her against him, kissing her passionately, not acting like a wall when their lips had met. He ran his tongue over her bottom lip, making her lips part as he deepened the kiss, moving his hand down farther as he cupped her ass.

Yukio pulled away again, looking at her softly, his eyes weren't cold like ice anymore, and they were warm and inviting like water in the sun. "I have to finish working on this, or I'll lose money and won't be able to keep my job, and then I won't be able to live in this house, or anywhere." He smiled softly at her, caressing her cheek before getting back underneath the car and not saying another word to her for the night. He seemed to sleep soundly this night, not a problem that she could see as she watched him before going to sleep herself.


	6. Valentine's Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters; all rights go to Tite Kubo.**

Update: Gomen! I've been busy with college and looking for a new job since being laid off, I haven't given up on this story, and never will till it's all wrapped up nicely!

Reviews are welcome~! I'll gladly accept them!

She wrapped herself up in the blankets, covering herself completely so as not to be disturbed by him so she could sleep a bit longer, to ride out the hangover she was really feeling from going out drinking with Urahara and Yoruichi.

He poked her in the side and she groaned, prepared to kick him the next time he did that. "Ughhh! Leave me and my pounding head alone…"

She heard a resounding chuckle from him "Where were you last night anyway? I thought you had gone back to that Soul Society of yours."

"You're crazy, I'm stuck here for a while, why? You seem to be itching to get rid of me."

"That's not it at all! And don't change the subject on me lady!" he added the last bit sternly while his face got red; it made her smirk slightly before she winced.

"Let me ask again, where were you last night that got you like this?"

She buried her face into the pillow. "I was out with two friends drinking, that's what I was doing last night, and now I have a hangover."

She heard him tsk and she tried her best to block him out "I had no clue you drank, you should have taken it easy… this is just nature's way of telling you not to do it."

This time she moved her leg blindly and attempted to kick him. When she heard an 'oomph,' a spark shined in her eye as she repressed a 'yes' from spilling out from her lips. It only lasted for a second though; her hangover reared its ugly head and screamed at her, telling her that she wasn't done with it yet. She crushed her hands against the sides of her head as she whimpered softly, refusing to scream and cry out from the pain. "GO AWAY!" she screamed at him, "I don't want to hear another word…"

She then felt him lay down next to her, his body pressing against her, the warmth… How could she describe it? It made the hangover feel less painful as his arms enveloped her in a way that made her feel so protected, arms that felt like home. For her, home wasn't the shack they had lived in; it wasn't her place she lived at now even. It was in _his_ arms, it was always in his arms where she called home.

She snuggled against him, burying her head into his chest as her arms wrapped around his torso. She groaned when he planted a kiss on top of her head, "Not now Yukio…"  
He consented and stopped moving at all, the only movement that he was making from that time was the movement of his chest expanding and relaxing as he breathed in and out. She fell asleep against him after fighting with herself to loose herself in sleep.

* * *

When she woke up, she found that his fingers were entwined through her fingers. Her headache and all other traces of her hangover from this morning were gone. He was looking at her adoringly before his face broke out into a grin.

"You're awake Rangiku, how's that headache of yours?"

"It's good now, I feel amazing"

"Good! Because we're going out shopping today!"

"Shopping?" She raised her eyebrow at the thought that was so foreign to her nowadays. She gasped when she was suddenly pulled up by him; she placed her free hand on his chest as she tried to stabilize herself to where she could stand without leaning on him. She looked up at him, seeing the grin that splayed on his lips at how obviously thrown off she was by the idea, like it was foreign to her. He had to stop himself from chuckling at her ignorance.

"Yes, shopping, have you never been shopping here before?"

Rangiku tsked and crossed her arms as her face twisted as a scowl appeared on her face. She turned her head away, "Of course I've been shopping here in the World of the living!" She suddenly turned her back on him, standing up on her toes as she got in his face about it with a scary look on her own. Her fists balled up, "I'm not that much of a work-a-holic like Taicho is! Hmmph! I just have stayed away from that past time because of certain events!" Her voice had risen during certain parts of her retort when she looked so passionate about it. All he could do was attempt to lean back as he looked at her with a shocked expression, his eyes wide open when looking back down at her.

"My, my, don't get so angry Rangiku-san" he said in a sing song voice that reminded her of Urahara, making the vein on her forehead pulse. He backed up slowly "Whoa! Calm down, Ranguki-san, I just thought it was funny at the possibility that you hadn't, please don't be mad at me."

That look of endearment was enough to calm her down and she returned back to her original height once her face relaxed.

"Fine," she drawled, "You better make it worth my time since I was known for being a shop-a-holic!" She then burst out laughing, clutching her stomach as her eyes started to water. "You're going to be in for it, I hope you're strong enough to carry all my stuff~!" She giggled and walked away from him with a bounce in her step as she went to the bathroom they shared, and grabbed her brush.

The brush ran through her slightly messed up hair, sorting out her waves and making them soft again, before brushing her teeth and then coming back out again. He looked up at her and grinned, holding his hand out for her to take again. She placed her hand into his and he bent down and kissed it, making her blush.

"Let's go Ran" he turned and started to walk, leading her out of the room and down the stairs before turning his head to look at her, "And I wouldn't worry about me, I can handle anything you throw at me."

* * *

She ran down the side walk with a big grin on her face as she heard him try so hard to keep up with her.

"No fair! You're a lot faster than I am because of who you are." He whined as he carried the load of bags from the places they had already visited, "and it isn't helping that I have extra weight too!"

"Ahaha! You're the one who wanted to take me out shopping! And don't say I didn't warn you~!" She threw her head back and laughed, feeling on top of the world now that she was free from the pain brought on by her hangover. She grinned back at him when she really started to mess around with him by going much faster than he could. She kept looking at his sorry face, her grin still prominent, before being knocked on her ass.

When she looked up, she saw what others would assume to be a group of friends in their early twenties, but she knew better than that since they were all much older than she was. She heard that familiar sing-song voice and her eyes widened as she really focused on the group.

"Rangiku-san~! How lovely to see you and your boy toy together for the first time!"

"HE IS NOT MY BOY TOY!" Her fists curled and uncurled as she sheathed her anger to ask something somewhat more important, she jabbed a finger in the air towards the group's direction. "How are you guys fine already from last night?!"

Yukio was blushing hard, bowing his head to let his bangs cover his eyes as his mouth lay open while gawking like a fish out of water with words that couldn't be heard. Urahara waved the fan a bit in his hand, and Rangiku suspected he must be hiding his usual grin. Yet when the paper fan was removed for him to speak, she saw the frown marring his face instead. She also noticed the difference from last night when she had been drinking with him and Yoruichi.

"Of course he's not, that's exactly why you're making him follow you like a puppy, and carry everything you've bought so far. Talk about cracking the whip! I almost feel sorry for him, but I guess Karma has made you the police for him."

Urahara gave an empty chuckle and continued to wave the fan. Rangiku, who was still trying to figure out what was different with Urahara, pointed at said man and said, "Your face, you look five years younger now. What happened? You don't look too happy about it…"

Shinji and Yoruichi grinned mischievously, looking so happy. "I held him down-," Yuroichi started.

"And I waxed his face," Shinji finished. "Removed his hair while he was sleeping. He barely had time to register what was happening till it was too late and he was yelling and screaming." They tried to stifle giggles until they both burst out laughing simultaneously as they probably played the moment over in their heads.

Urahara's frown now had an obvious history to it, and made more sense for the usually jovial man. He looked like he wanted to cry over his lost stubble- either that, or through a fit over it. "Of course, I'm not happy about it. I wish you two would stop laughing about what you did to my face."

The redhead rocked on her heels before looping her arm with Yoruichi's, both looking at Kisuke. Shinji leaned in for to kiss him on the lips, but was blocked by a smack with the fan. Ignoring it, Shinji wrapped his arms around him instead. "You weren't ever going to grow a beard Kisuke. No matter how hard you tried, ninety years happened. Stop fooling yourself Kisuke-kun." He caressed the man's cheek. "Plus your face looks better now- back to the way I loved it best." Shinji rubbed his red cheek as if just noticing the pain that was sitting there, and groaned. "That hurt ya bastard!"

There was a sudden burst of laughing from someone new; all of them let their eyes fall on the source. Rangiku stared at Yukio as he bent over, laughing with tears already in his eyes. "Y-you guys-!" A quick laugh escaped him as he tried to keep himself from falling to the ground and rolling around in his jovial state. Fighting off his last spouts of laughter, he stood up and wiped a tear away. "You guys are too funny, Rangiku-san~," he drawled. "Why didn't you tell me about them earlier? I don't think I've witnessed a more humorous group in my life!" For a second, he almost forgot that he had a load of shopping bags on him that made it hard for him to do anything. He shifted them back into place, knowing Ran-san would be more than likely pissed if he ruined all her goods right after buying them. He stopped laughing totally when he found Rangiku staring at him.

The redhead looked at her watch and back at them with black eyes. "We're going now Rangiku-san! We have to move on so we can go back to the Soul Society, and Seira-chan!" Amaterasu spoke in a soft, velvety voice that rang strong with each word, a natural leader's tone… With that he watched the group leave, the echo of the blonde one with the fan's getas hitting the ground with every step. He turned back to look at Rangiku who seemed out of it as she said a simple, quiet "goodbye."

She couldn't voice it but Yukio had looked so much like Gin in that moment than he ever had. Seeing him like that after a month or two after meeting him...It was definitely a shock for her to see. Was he finally more comfortable with showing other sides of himself to her? Was that it? Was that what was happening between the both of them?

Rangiku found herself thinking about Yukio again. She wanted to know how much else had he been keeping from her. How much longer would he have left to learn about Gin and the way he acted? Her mind was like a beehive; her thoughts buzzing around, bouncing in her head as she stood there looking at nothing, and yet everything at the same time. There was suddenly a loud pop and she flinched when she saw hands clasped together right in front of her face.

"Ran-san, are you back here with me on Earth?" Yukio chuckled before he removed his hands from the air. He noticed how lost she looked and decided to do something about it; today was perfect for it anyway.

"C'mon, Rangiku." Her hand was grabbed gingerly. He tugged on it, pulling forward and from her thoughts. She was greatly surprised by his urgent mood, seeing him look at her with that spark in his eyes...

The next thing she knew they were at a candy store and Yukio was explaining something. "You know... in America they have a special day called Valentine's Day. It's for couples to express their love for each other, so they give each other gifts, like chocolate. Almost like White Day for us here in Japan, but also not like it at the same time. And it just so happens that today... is Valentine's Day!"

He grinned when she looked at him with a look that said, "So what?" She furrowed her brow. "Why do I care? ...And why'd you bring me to a candy shop?" She still wasn't piecing it together.

Nani? Are you really that dense, Rangiku-san?"

He reached forward and flicked her nose, which she immediately covered when it decided to turn red. "Tch..jerk.." That only made his grin grow wider and her frown go deeper.

He went on. "I brought you here 'cause of us being a couple. It's also an excuse to buy you sweets... So, tell me, love, what is it that you hunger for so I can buy it for you?" His head tilted to the side as he waited for her to say something.

Her fingers moved to her chin as she thought about, running her eyes over all the candy and the possibilities. It had been so long since she had anything fattening like sweets; she usually opted out of stuff like that. Partaking in stuff like Valentine's Day was a taboo for her, and everyone in Soul Society either hadn't noticed it, chose not to say anything, or show that they thought something was up-she moved the topic when the latter happened.

She looked at what was on display, spotted a box of chocolates and pointed it out. "There. I want that one, Yukio." A second glance showed her that they were shaped like hearts and a blush dusted her cheeks at that small detail.

His grin softened into a sweet smile as he went up to pay for it, pushing through the crowd to bring it back. He stood in front of her, opening the box and plopping a heart in her mouth that had taken the shape of an 'o' from surprise. He plopped one in his own mouth, and before she could protest, he kissed her. She tasted the chocolate on his tongue and moaned, her brow furrowing and her knees getting weak.

She was about to sink to the ground until he dropped some of the bags he was holding to wrap an arm around her waist, holding her up as he deepened the kiss. Their tongues danced for the longest while and Rangiku felt her head swimming. He pulled away for air, placing the chocolate box in one of the shopping bags before picking them up. One more thing to add to his load; one thing that surprised him the most. She climbed on his back, placing her arms around his shoulder and her legs hooked on his sides.

She heard him chuckle and say, "I love you."

She laid her head on his shoulder and whispered it back. "I love you too, my happy man."

He walked the two of them home with a sweet smile and a pounding heart. He put the bags down on the table while she hopped off his back to stretch. He spun her around, pressing her against him and kissing her once more-passionate and intense.

She gasped every time their lips let go and once she spoke his name. "Yukio-kun.."

"Mmmm" he continues to kiss her "What is it love?"

"You seem... much more aggressive and desperate than you ever have before..."

His hand smoothed her arm like a feather over her skin as he halted his affections, his lips leaving hers. His face never left hers though. "Don't you like it, Rangiku?" Alarm was evident in his voice and she stiffened in his arms.

"No… That wasn't what I was getting at…"

His face bowed down, his bangs hiding his beautiful eyes, and she immediately regretted saying anything at all. She had never thought he would react this way and her heart was filled with pain at the sight. It ached whenever Gin was in pain. She always wanted him to be happy and positive. Even she knew that would never have happened, not with the life he had led. He had always been smacked with misfortune, both then and now.

Yukio starting to speak made her tense again. "When we were walking home, I was struck with another memory... it was when you followed me when I was Gin. You had become a Shinigami shortly after I had... things were... peaceful... I would carry you on my back like we just did... you'd even whisper sweet things in my ear." The smile he held behind that curtain of bangs was sad, longing.

Rangiku remembered... she remembered so well... "Yukio, don't say another word. You have me now, don't you? Loving you and willing to do anything for you because of that. Don't ever doubt it." She caressed his cheek and he placed his hand over hers, holding it there while his expression lightened.

"Just like then, you always know the right thing to say to put me at ease, Rangiku..."

He picked her up in his arms with that cutely surprised expression on her face that only served to fuel him. He carried her up the stairs, dodging walls, and kissing her until they were in his room. She laid with him in his bed until he fell asleep, his arms loose enough so she could move to her own bed.

She smiled to herself and pulled her blanket tighter around her. "I was so lucky... I've been given one more chance... no," she shook her head," _we've_ been given another chance to love each other and be together."


	7. Don't kill him

**Author's note: I actually didn't intend to include Haineko into this story, but it felt right. I hope you enjoy my interpretation of her, and the mini spoiler Haineko gave near the end. SMUT (Don't say I didn't warn you).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters; all rights go to Tite Kubo.**

**Reviews are welcome~! I'll gladly accept them!**

_He felt her underneath him. Oh, how her body tensed at all the right times- it made him shiver. Those sweet sounds that escaped that hot, little mouth if hers kept him motivated and burning with lust. All of it drove him wild, filling him with an electricity that ran through his veins; the warmth of his body was like a raging fire, only getting worse with every touch of their skin. This was the only one he had ever loved; the woman that held his heart in the palm of her hand- whether she knew that or not was irrelevant. She was his woman, and nobody was going to get in the way of her happiness.  
_

* * *

_In the same instant in which he heard the screams, he felt warmth collecting in spots on his body. The man before him clutched at the corner of his hakama, desperate in need of air, wheezing. He had watched with cold eyes at the man who- to him- was just another person in the way of his goal of ending Aizen for Rangiku. His body felt no remorse at ending this man's life, watching as it ebbed out of him slowly before the man slumped backwards, his hand going limp as death took his soul. Gin thought the man foolish to take the previous third seat's spot when the redheaded lady before him was much more worthy. Yet as he thought about it, he didn't know if he would have gotten away with raising his sword to said woman. She was always busy taking care of important matters- meaning she was important, powerful- and right now she was basically on leave._

_There wasn't a day that passed that he didn't look at the man he despised so much with hatred, disguising his want to eradicate that man's existence with a look completely different to what he really felt. He always made himself look as if he and his zanpakuto weren't covered in another's blood, like he didn't care that the scarlet liquid dripped from its tip._

_He watched many more fall under his blade, killing more than any man should…_

* * *

She woke up to him crying out for her "Rangiku! What have I done?!" When she looked over at him, she saw that he was still asleep; she saw the sweat coating his forehead and how he had been sweating in his sleep, his body was trembling. She got out of her bed and walked over to him, standing next to his bed and folding his hand, covering it with her own hands. His eyes shot open and fell on her face, staring at her with his glazed over eyes that were filled with pain and sadness, maybe even a bit of madness was hidden deep in them too.

"Blood…" he shuddered, "It was everywhere, covering my body…" This had really gotten to him; the dreams had been getting worse and worse ever since their first make-out session next to the car. His only enjoyment after that was the time that he spent with her, even if it was meeting her that started him down this path of sleepless nights. He had learned so much more from her about the workings of her job, all the things that he would have thought were down near impossible till he had met her.

He felt so numb when her arms wrapped around him, holding him to her. "What did you see?"

"I killed people, so many people I watched die under me…" His eyes focused for a moment "And I saw her…"

"Who's 'her'?"

His fists clenched around the blankets. "The redheaded woman with the other three we saw while we were shopping… A woman with fierce power, the third seat of fifth division, Amaterasu Mira, the one that made my job easy by being on a temporary leave… If she had been there, she could've stopped me, I would have been the one bleeding on the ground like I deserved."

She looked at him with concern "I knew you had done many wrongs as Gin, it didn't stop me from anything, not from loving him, and I won't think badly of you this time around either."

She looked at him sternly, "And don't you dare think like that, no one should have been hurt, and for me, that applies to you more than anyone else!"

Those words seemed to relax him; his body wasn't as tense and rigid as before. "Thank you Rangiku."

His body was still fairly tense though as he changed gears, she was kissed again, something that didn't surprise her since it was their fortieth time doing it since she had arrived a few months ago.

What did surprise her were the emotions that she felt in the kiss as it deepened. He was so much more forceful, he had never been like this, not even during Valentines… His tongue pressed against her lips, begging for entrance with desperation she felt as loud as a scream. She gave in, parting her lips as his tongue snaked into her mouth, playing with her tongue as she slowly felt herself being swallowed whole for some reason.

The snake… Yes, that was what others, and Gin himself called him. She preferred to think of him as a fox, not the venomous and deadly predator like the snake. Sometimes, like now, there was just no denying the truth behind the statement. She was in love with a cold-blooded snake, something that swallowed others whole without any feeling…

Wait. She really had to stop thinking like that, that was not totally true with the man before her now, the one that was kissing her so fervently. Her eyes snapped back into focus, looking down at him as he left a trail of kisses down her jawline and kissed her neck.

_'He is a mix of both animals, the feeling fox, and the sadistic snake. He will swallow me whole, but he will protect me, love me, and defend me for I am his partner. Yes, I am his other half, I cannot forget that fact.'_

She turned her head, exposing her neck and threading her fingers through his hair as he played with her neck. His kisses became deeper before she felt his tongue, and then his teeth nicking her skin. Her lips parted and she let out a small gasp. His fingers were working on her despite his not looking to see what he was doing, her top was being removed. She had forgotten how deft his long fingers were, it had been too long since the last time they had been in a position like this.

His lips grazed against her skin even lower, kissing her shoulder as he made his way down. He nipped at the skin, his fingers caressing her back. He unhooked her bra and slid it off of her arms, tossing it aside. His fingers traced circles, making her flush when his mouth made contact with her sensitive nipple.

Her mouth was agape as small moans escaped her lips; she wrapped her arms around his neck. Keeping him there while he worked his magic on her, making her feel like she was on fire and it only got worse as his hands and mouth explored her as he slowly had them undressed while never breaking contact.

He removed the last bit of clothing between them, she moaned and suddenly without much of a warning, his digits were touching her lips. They slipped in past her parted lips, being wrapped around the heat of her hot, wet mouth. She licked them, teasing the fingers with her tongue and hearing him moan quietly at the attention she was giving him. Suddenly she found that the fingers were quickly gone and his hands were on her legs. He spread them farther then what they already were and went down on her. She moaned quietly as his tongue delved into her, roaming her walls as he desperately tried to find her clit.

She wrapped her legs loosely around his neck _'Gin… I-I mean Yukio…!' _she rocked her hips up once quickly, gasping out his name when he finally found her sweet spot._ 'I love him…' _"Yukio-kun~!" she said his name like a prayer, her voice becoming soft with a bit of a whine in her tone as his tongue wrapped around it pulling and messing any which way he could and bringing her so much pleasure that she thought she'd explode any moment. She shuddered as he made her actually explode and he swallowed all of her juices and came back up to her.

He kissed her passionately; he positioned himself in between her legs and pushed in slowly till he was all the way in. She panted '_it's truly been too long, it hurts and is uncomfortable' _she cried out loudly when he started to move. He seemed a bit startled and paused "Is there something wrong Rangiku?" she shook her head furiously, her arms wrapping around him as her hands rested on his back.

"No, it's just been such a long time since I've done anything like this, I forgot how good it was, how good you make me feel…" He nodded and she moaned as he moved again, getting into a pace that slowly increased in speed. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He savored the wonderful taste, it was like an orange. The inside of her mouth was sweet and rich, and made him want more of it. She kissed back fiercely with desperation for him.

His hands ran through her hair which was still just as short as it had been after his death… She loved every touch from him, every thrust made her quiver. '_I feel like I'm about to melt, I could die right now and be happy in this state of eternal bliss.' _She shuddered '_I'm about to lose it, he's driven me over the edge of pleasure, I-I think I'm gonna-!'_

He felt her tighten around him and he thrust one last time, releasing shortly after she had. He panted; tired from sex he laid on his back and pulled her to him. She laid on his heaving chest and he placed his hand on top of her head while she wrapped her arms around him. Yukio was fast asleep in a few minutes and she smiled, feeling better than she ever had in a real long time.

"_That is so hot, I've missed this~!" _Rangiku almost missed Haineko chiming her thoughts in to what had just happened between her and Yukio. She could picture the blonde she-cat purring with her ears twitching and tail swishing around with a gloating look on her face. She wanted to go and punch that look off of her zanpakuto's face, but couldn't right now, not with Yukio so invested in her, holding her against his chest so lovingly. _'What on earth are you talking about you brat?' _she listened to her zanpakuto whine lightly and suddenly she was in her inner world and staring at Haineko who was lying on her stomach.

She looked around the inner world "It's changed since the last time I saw it…" Haineko purred, nodding quickly with an adorable look on her face as she jumped up and got distracted by one of the many toys that decorated the place that looked kind of like Byakuya's mansion. At least it looked that way for the rooms she had been in. She watched as Haineko crawled around like a cat and looked at the pond filled with clear water and flowers, she watched the water ripple in a couple places. The cat got an excited look in her eyes as she crouched for a few seconds while she spoke.

"Nyaa~! Of course it's different, you were so sad for so long that the pond turned practically into an ocean! All my stuff washed away and disappeared, I was so sad and bored, I had nothing to do, no toys to play with and no men to look at!" Haineko huffed as her tail swished while she eyed the water with an intense gaze. "I waited and waited for you to get back to normal, but nothing happened. All I could do was stare out at the water and wait some more."

"Ah ha!" Haineko jumped, pouncing and landing in the water, she came back up with a fish flopping in her mouth.

"But then you met that guy and the ocean disappeared in a day or two, and I remodeled the place to fit all my wants and needs to make up for all the years! I became so happy again when you became happy again, which is why I said that you playing around with that Yukio boy was so hot and that I missed it."

She started to munch on the fish, looking like a kid in a candy store as she ate it.

"You're right; I guess I am happy again."

Rangiku smiled softly and fiddled with her scarf while Haineko finished her meal. She was finally happy again, she had the man she always wanted in the condition she always wanted. She had all she could ever ask for. When she looked back up Haineko was suddenly in her face with a high and mighty catty smirk on her face.

"Sooo…" she drawled, "did ya have fun popping his cherry? I always knew you had a thing for younger guys!" she giggled as a vein popped out of Rangiku's forehead and a hand was coming towards her face and she squealed, hissing as her hair stood on end, her fangs showed and her ears pointed straight up. She barely dodged the attack and batted the hand away from her.

"H-hey!" she whined "what's wrong with you?!"

"Don't joke about my relationship with him Haineko, you should know that he's not like anyone else I've been around before, all those heartless flirtations when Gin was gone… they all mean nothing."

Silence rang between them for a few minutes, so quiet and yet loud at the same time. She watched as Haineko's tail swished back and forth as the she-cat looked somberly at her bare feet. "I-I know that, I'm your zanpakuto after all, I know everything about you. More so than Gin did, and especially more than that Yukio boy, I know how you feel Rangiku."

She looked up at Rangiku with stern stark green eyes. "I felt all your emotions while you were making love with him, in over a hundred years I've never felt you so happy and pleased. It was like…" she paused as she tried to mull over the right words to say "It's like you flipped on the light switch, the darkness gave way to nothing but light... or you could say that it stopped being a moonless night and changed to day with the sun bright and shining over everything in its warm rays. Yukio has made your world bright again and I like the fact that you've found _him _again. I'm happy that it's not just an assumption anymore, that you and him both have confirmed that he was Gin in his past life…"

Haineko smiled softly "After all, separation is harder when you don't know if it's really them on the other side."

"Haineko…" Rangiku whispered softly "you've never said anything so deep and heartwarming before."

She gave a quick laugh "I know. Just don't kill him okay, you have this nasty habit of suffocating people with your breasts when you hug them!"

Rangiku clenched her fist and picked up a rock, aiming and throwing it at Haineko who freaked out and hissed "Nyaa! Are you trying to kill me you jerk?!" before scampering off on all fours with her back raised in agitation to hide in the bushes.

She rolled her blue eyes and turned, starting to walk away. She heard Haineko call after her "You can't come back here with that mean attitude anymore Rangiku! I rather like myself right now without any damage, nyaa!" She hid the half smile from her zanpakuto when she heard a hiss from the feline, and then there was nothing.


	8. Breaking Down

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or any of the characters; all rights go to Tite Kubo.**

**Author's Note: Without my friend on Tumblr deceptive-grin, I wouldn't have had been able to do this chapter since they gave me the key piece of information to get this ball rolling to get piece together the beginning and end of this chapter. I also think that I did a really crappy job with this chapter, and that it isn't very good at all. Also, when reading this chapter, I suggest listening to the songs Fuyu no Hanabi, and Clarity.**

**Reviews are welcome~! I'll gladly accept them!**

She woke up, still in his arms. She cuddled against him, bringing herself closer to him as her body pressed against his even more for comfort. He was still knocked out at the moment; she could lay here forever if it meant him catching up on all the sleep he had been missing out on. If it meant that he would be happy, it would all be worth it.

She traced circles over his chest with her pointer finger. A small, soft smile crept up onto his lips from her touch as he slept. He moved a little bit and she thought he looked so cute and innocent like this. Maybe even a little boyish in the goofy smile he had on his face. She had to stifle a laugh, biting her lip to keep any sound from escaping her mouth.

_Kiss him! Kiss that hunky prince of yours, nyaa~! _ Haineko called in her head, making her rigid and she watching Gin frown as his arms tightened around her. _Shut it you little twerp! I told you to stay out of this and stop making fun of our relationship! _The woman seethed silently, hoping not to awaken or disturb her lover any farther than she already had.

She really wandered about him; she knew that her time here was running short. The task she had been given to carry out, it was almost at an end for her. How would she tell him, and more importantly, how would he react to the news. It hurt her just thinking about it, separating from him after all of this…

A tear ran down her cheek and he shifted, his eyes opening and he looked down at her. He saw how sad she looked; he reached forward and caressed her cheek, feeling that it was wet.

"Are you alright Rangiku?"

"I'm fine" she stated, smiling as an attempt to quell his fears that were probably starting to form. She didn't want him to feel sad, not right now, not when everything was so good right now. "You don't need to worry about me; you're the one that I will always worry about."

He nodded solemnly, knowing that the conversation was now over with between them. It felt like the whole world got quiet when her pager started to go off, alerting her that a hollow was around that she needed to fight and cleanse. She got up and swallowed the gikongon and stood up from the floor in her soul form. Her fingers tapped Haineko who hung at her waist. "I'll be going." She turned her head to look back at him. "I'm going to be gone for most of the day, so enjoy yourself while I am away."

With those words, she was gone from his sight; he lay there alone for half an hour before getting up and going through the daily routine. He sighed and gripped the mirror when looking at himself. Staring back at him was himself but older and colder, looking sadistic and creepy. He looked at the snake that was looking at him with a cold expression. The reflection's lips started to move.

"Stop livin' a lie, we can never truly be happy no matter what we try ta do. She will always clean our wounds, but they never heal. I've done too much evil in the past fer that ta ever happen."

Yukio looked in horror as all of this was happening. "Shut up, you have no clue what you are talking about; she makes me better than I have ever been in my life. She's healing me slowly over time, you aren't living my life!" He shouted at the mirror and Gin's face twisted into its fox like grin.

"Ya have no clue, I am livin' yer life. Have ya forgotten that we're one 'n the same boy?" That grin of his only served to get wider. "My own blade understood that better than yer understanding that, and she was the very definition of snake. She wasn't one ta show emotion unless she was playing a game with you, but it seems she could read and understand others better than yer showing me right now."

The man laughed coldly as another face showed up in the mirror behind his past life. He looked at the strikingly beautiful woman who was slightly smaller than they were, she looked like him and the man in the mirror, kind of like his twin, but older.

He noticed that her eyes were open unlike the narrowed eyes of the one in front of her. "Ignore 'im if ya love her, stay with her." She bowed her head slightly while closing her eyes for an instant as a smirk appeared on her lips. "This is one more chance for the both of ya. Don't ever forget that little boy, don't listen ta this idiot here." He heard a smack in his head as her fist connected with Gin's head.

"Ouch, what the hell Shinso?!"

She crossed her arms. "Hmph, ya deserved that since ya had us both killed in Karakura Town, I've been meaning ta hit ya fer two hundred and fifty years!" She yelled at him, making Gin cringe with a defensive expression on his face as they started to disappear. "Never let 'er go boy, she's the best thing ya'll ever find in any of yer lifetimes…"

With that there was silence and there was nothing but himself reflected in the mirror. He huffed and turned away, leaning against the counter for support before he suddenly blacked out.

_He followed behind the slightly taller brunette with a look that was a thousand times more frightening than his own. The grin was etched into his face as he played the part of this man's right hand guy. He walked the streets with the one he loathed and wanted to end with every fiber of his being. _"Are ya ready fer what we're about ta do, Shinso?" _He communicated with his zanpakuto, the one being that knew him better than even Rangiku did, she could read him like a book and he grinned about the fact that she had no qualms with that._

He felt her imperceptible nod as she lay in the pond of the inner world that shown like their eyes.

"I've been ready fer this since the moment ya learned how ta use bankai, Gin-sama. He took everythin' that we cared fer; it's time he finally died fer his sins."

They both came along, watching the teenagers in Karakura Town run and attempt to get rid of Aizen to prolong their own lives. Eventually Rangiku came before him and he coldly got rid of her with only the best of intentions. What he was about to do… He could never involve her in, he had to be sure that Aizen wouldn't use her as a substitute with the power of Kyouka Suigetsu. He knew that he had hurt her because he was hurting from his actions.

He stood in front of the monster of a man, lying through his teeth as he told him that he had gotten rid of her once and for all. He hurt deeply, so much pain that resonated between him and his zanpakuto. He felt her unspoken cries of sorrow as he eventually went and had Aizen alone.

He finally did it, he had his hand on the man's sword, seeing that it was trick and that he really had been with the right being all along in front of him. He had gotten him, using his bankai Kamishini no Yari and taking the Hogyoku from the man he thought was now dead and could no longer hurt anyone anymore. He ran away and leaned against one of many buildings. Shinso gave one him one of her very rare genuine smiles filled with happiness as he looked at the object in his hand with long awaited pleasure.

"We did it, Gin! We killed 'em, and now we can go back and apologize to Rangiku-san about all that we did. She of all people deserves an explanation for all of this aside from that poor Izuru-chan."

"We won! Victor-" _Her words were quickly silenced as the man was sudden there and alive before them. His eyes widened in surprise and fear. His arm was suddenly ripped from him and his blood colored the air around him with crimson. He no longer felt the Hogyoku in his grasp anymore as he slowly fell. Feeling the life drain out of him piece by piece. He felt his partner start to drown as the frozen pond was melted. She cried her heart out with tears that had never fallen from her eyes in an honest manner aside from the time that they had left Rangiku and Haineko for so long to the both of them. The both of them continued to bleed out by the time Rangiku got there._

_Shinso was fading along with his inner world, he could feel it as her cries became weaker and weaker before she finally spoke to him. "Goodbye Gin, I'll miss ya…" With her last smile she was gone, as Rangiku cried over him, he felt like shedding tears as well. He just didn't have the strength or feeling to do it, he closed his eyes and then there nothing as Rangiku clutched his lifeless body while continuing to cry for him._

He woke up in a daze and pulled himself up from his position crouched on the floor. He was wobbly from that memory of finally seeing the girl finally look like an adult instead of a child like he had seen her in all his other memories belonging to his past life as her appearance seemed to change in just about every single time she managed to show up. Today had made him finally realize who she was, that had been his zanpakuto just like Haineko was Rangiku's zanpakuto. "Shinso…" He breathed in and out slowly when thinking back to the woman in the mirror that had hit Gin with no qualms.

He wondered if his sister was Shinso reborn now? His sister always had an easier time with how she showed her emotions and being more carefree and making more connections with others that he had never been able to do. She had easily been able to always put him in his place like no one else could if the need arose.

He pulled out his cellphone and dialed her number up. It had been months since the two had seen each other; it was long enough that the two now have a conversation together again. The phone rang a few times before she finally picked it up on the sixth ring.

"Hello?"

Her voice rang through the line as cool and smooth as silk. He chuckled awkwardly. "Did you really forget this number, Akane?" There was nothing but silence between the two of them for a few minutes. "Of course not Yukio, you just screamed at me the last time we were around each other to get the hell out of your life because I was a waste of space." She spoke with a hateful bite and he drew in a breath. "If you have nothing important to say to me, I'm hanging up!"

"Wait! Don't hang up yet Akane!" "Fine." She conceded to his desperation. "Can we go the café that we used to always go to during our time in high school?"

"Yes, meet me there at two o'clock sharp, or I will never talk to you again."

With that the call ended and he stared at the blinking screen that told him so before putting the phone in his pocket. He looked at the time and his eyes widened. "Shit." It was now twelve thirty-seven and he needed to hurry up and get there before he'd ruin his chance of asking her any of the questions on his mind, or talking to her in general. Yukio ran down the steps with some money to pay for this outing. He locked the door behind him and sprinted down to the place.

He found her there waiting for him, a silver purse in her hand. He was shocked by the physical change that had happened in her. She was taller than she ever had been, just a few inches shorter than he was. Her hair had also gotten longer based on the fact that her hair tied up on a high ponytail was longer than when she had it down the last time they had seen each other. Her face was also thinner; having lost the roundness it used to have. She looked more and more like Shinso now when looking at her.

"Let's go inside."

She nodded at his words and walked in before him, not letting him open up the door for her. She sat down at a small table with a sour look on her face; she looked sullen and slightly gaunt. "Spit it out." A served came and got what they had asked for. Akane took a sip of her iced chai latte, not looking at him till he spoke.

"I want to ask you, have you been having any weird dreams lately?" He decided it was best if he just called them dreams right now in this point in the conversation.

She nodded with a worried look in her eyes in her cerulean eyes. She bit her lip harshly. "Did you also black out today as well?" She shook her head with a haunted look on her face as she gripped the cup hard. "I didn't, not at all." She denied it, she had actually blacked out today, and right around eleven was when it had happened to her. It was like her spirit had gone somewhere else. "What's your whole point to this?" She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lately with the events in my life, I've come to believe in past lives and many, many other things that would take longer than one conversation to explain." He took a bite of the food that was in front of him. "Have you been seeing a woman that looks like an older and colder version of you? Did she by any chance remind you of a snake?"

She was about to deny it again, she thought she was going crazy this past year with all the memories of a life she had never lived running through her mind, when he spoke harshly to her. "I know that you have, I can tell by the way you look and are gripping your cup ever since I brought it up."

"O-okay, I'll admit that I have been having 'dreams,' memories that I've never lived through. That woman you mentioned… she's been haunting me, showing up and talking to me in the mirror. I haven't told anyone else about it till now." She visibly trembled as she looked down at the table. "I just want it all to stop."

He nodded looking up and seeing something that made his world turn upside down in that instant. He saw a man that looked exactly like the man that was named Aizen. He gripped the table hard "I'm going; you should leave as well, Akane." He then got up after leaving the money on the table to her calling after him as he left the place in even more of a rush than when he had come.

He bumped into Rangiku just as he was about to enter his house. She looked at him. "What's wrong Yukio?" He shook his head and unlocked the door, going inside without so much as a glance at her. "It's nothing Rangiku."

"Baka! You know that you can tell me." He crashed on the couch, staring at the ceiling with a blank look.

"It was… I saw Gin and Shinso in the mirror while you were gone this morning, the two of them talked to me about myself and you. I also found out that my twin sister is Shinso…" She looked at him, hearing his dispassionate tone that lacked emotion. "And?" She could tell that there was something that he still had to tell her. "What are you my therapist or something?!" He snapped as his fists clenched. He cracked though when he looked at her shocked and horrified face at how he had lashed out of at her.

He had never done it, not now or when he was Gin. He had never meant to hurt her in anyway, all he ever did was want to protect and love her. He saw up and walked over to her, pulling her into a hug and rest his head on her shoulder. "Today, when I was with my sister, a man who looked just like Sosuke Aizen had walked in." He was back to speaking without any emotion as his arms hung around her waist.

he turned his head and was about to kiss her when her pager went off, ringing sporadically before she flipped it open and answered it with a "Hello?" He heard incoherent shouting from some guy on the other line. She froze, looking serious at the words that Hitsugaya-taichou said to her. _"Your time down there is almost up, I had to extend your time since you seemed to be dallying around like always and forgot when you were supposed to be back; you have two weeks before you have to come back Matsumoto." _

"What was that another guy I have to watch out for? My dear Ran-chan, and here I thought we had something special." He joked to get his mind off of earlier events today before she turned around to face him in his arms. "This is no time for joking around." She looked into his eyes. "Yukio, I have to tell you something right now that you need to hear."

The next words that she said sent cracks through his world like a mirror being hit by a baseball bat. He slumped, falling to his knees before her. "Y-you're what?" He stayed there shell shocked at her words, he held onto her legs like a life line. This couldn't be happening; she was now his whole world. He wouldn't be able to live another day without her being there with him. He just needed her like one needs air, food and water to be able to survive.

"You can't leave me!"


End file.
